South Park: The Complete Nineteenth Season

This stunning and brave 19th season of South Park follows a serialized model for the first time in the show’s history. The season is built around an extended satire of political correctness beginning when a new socially conscious principal comes to town. In other episodes, Mr. Garrison makes a bid for the White House, Randy takes the lead in gentrifying the town, and everyone is looking for their safe space.

Story ReviewStoryline: Our Reviewer's Take

5 Stars out of 5

Has it really been almost two decades since this little animated show first debuted on television and won our hearts? 'South Park' has been on for nineteen seasons now and shows no signs of stopping or even slowing down. There are many things 'South Park' does well, but perhaps one of the best things they do is that over the past several seasons, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have made the show a satire on modern day culture, tackling all of the social, economic, religious, racial, and political issues that plague the United States.

Not one group of people or idea or belief is off limits as every season continues to push the bounds and bring us over that line and make us appreciate and laugh at it all. It's a very smart and genius show that will make you think and laugh uncontrollably loud in each episode. Particularly, this nineteenth season takes on so much that is still currently happening in our lives, including police, Donald Trump, and being politically correct all the time, that you can't deny that Parker and Stone are on top of current events and have mastered the art of satire in the best ways possible.

Doing something different this time around in this season, Parker and Stone have concocted all ten episodes into a long story arc that spans the entire season. The new character at the center of this season is a muscular white man who lives in a fraternity house and is the new principal at South Park Elementary, and only goes by PC Principal. This guy yells, curses, drinks, and fights, while trying to get everyone to be politically correct or PC. It doesn't stop at the school either, as PC Principal and Randy Marsh change the town, by bringing in a Whole Foods, along with tons of boutique shops and trendy restaurants.

People and cultures clash for sure as PC Principal isn't what he seems to be. From Officer Barbrady shooting a Latino child and being forced out of town to Mr. Garrison battling Donald Trump in Canada, to horrible Yelp reviews, to even taco launchers and pregnant Mexican women - this nineteenth season has it all. Even ISIS, Cartman's body shaming, homosexual kids, and a great rendition of Caitlyn Jenner shows up in this season. It doesn't only make us laugh out loud, but it makes us take a step back and really look into our culture and lives. Season nineteen of 'South Park' is an excellent addition to the series and is highly re-watchable.

The Disc: Vital Stats

'South Park: Season Nineteen' comes with two 50GB Blu-ray Discs from Comedy Central and Paramount that are Region A Locked. There is an insert promoting the upcoming 'South Park and the Fracture But Whole' video game. The discs are housed in a cardboard foldout case with a cardboard sleeve.

Video Review

4.5 Stars out of 5

'South Park: The Complete Nineteenth Season' comes with a great 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. These past seasons that have been released on Blu-ray just look fantastic and this nineteenth season is no different. The HD animation looks so good, even with the simple animation style throughout. The clarity of the animation looks superb with the fine details of the construction paper like style showing through, which gives the image some depth.

Colors simply pop off screen as well with the fill range of the color spectrum out in full force. The primary colors look exquisite in each episode, with even the background buildings and characters showing off a ton of bright color and detail. There was some ver minor banding, but it's nothing to write home about. This show just looks wonderful and has only gotten better with each season. Top marks for this video presentation.

Audio Review

4 Stars out of 5

This release comes with the usual lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix along with ta 2.0 option as well, but the 5.1 option is definitely the way to go. More or less, this is a front heavy audio mix, but when the big action scenes come on, or there is a song or music number playing, the speaker system utilizes each speaker for a full and robust sound.

The ambient noises and sound effects of the other townsfolk talking in the background, or businesses serving people, or even people eating, and of course farting all have great directionality and have a big and distinct sound through the surrounds. The music numbers always take center stage, but never drown out the other sound effects. The bass kicks into gear in certain sections to give a balanced out soundscape as well. The dialogue is always clear and easy to follow along, and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, or shrills. This is a great and fun audio presentation.

Special Features

2.5 Stars out of 5

Audio Commentary (HD, 27 Mins.) - Instead of those mini commentaries on each episode from the past seasons, Trey Parker and Matt Stone give a season commentary that lasts about 27 minutes that discusses the whole season, with clips from the season here. Of course there is some great information about the episodes and will definitely make you laugh. This extra is located on Disc 1.

Deleted Scenes (HD, 6 Mins.) - There are six deleted scenes from six episodes, all of which are worth watching.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole E3 2016 Game Trailer (HD, 3 Mins.) - This is the trailer for the upcoming 'South Park' video game that debuted at E3 this year.

#Social Commentary - Each episode has a pop up screen of South Park's Twitter handle, giving information and jokes through the episode.

Final Thoughts

Even after almost twenty years, 'South Park' is still as relevant, smart, quick, and hilariously funny as it was when it first debuted. The big story arc angle really made the show fresh again, and it also brought us one of the best new characters of recent memory with PC Principal. In the nineteenth season, 'South Park' still provides tons of laughs, satire, and heart. The video and audio presentations are both excellent and the commentary by Trey and Matt are excellent. Highly recommended!

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